FAO to review project to stimulate community action against fall Armyworm

The UN agency, in 2017, launched a project entitled, “Establishing an emergency community–based Fall Armyworm monitoring, and forecasting, early warning and management system in Eastern Africa.”

Since the project has been implemented in the last one year, it now comes the time to review its progress.

The project supports six Eastern Africa countries: Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda in FAW monitoring and early warning to initiate timely and effective management actions to minimize crop loss.

FAO is organizing a mid-term review to evaluate the performance of the project in terms of the application of the community-based approach to managing FAW.

The agenda will focus on sustainable solutions for the monitoring and control of FAW in Eastern Africa.

Representatives from the Ministries of Agriculture and international partner organizations – USAID, DLCO-EA, ICIPE, and CABI – will take part in the meeting.

Fall Armyworm (FAW) is an invasive pest that has spread across Africa and is causing serious damage to maize, a vital staple crop.

FAW will have long-term effects on crop yields, food supplies, livelihoods, trade, and threaten the resilience of vulnerable populations if not properly managed.

The  impact of FAW highlights a fundamental challenge smallholder farmers face—limited access to information, tools, technologies and management practices—and the need for systems that effectively respond to emerging transboundary threats